“Here.” One of the men from the front handed over a cell phone. He put it on speaker.
“She can hear you, sir,” the driver stated aloud.
“Nalia, put down the gun.”
“Who is this? You’re not my father. I want to hear from my father.”
“Here.” One of the men from the front handed over a cell phone. He put it on speaker.
“She can hear you, sir,” the driver stated aloud.
“Nalia, put down the gun.”
“Who is this? You’re not my father. I want to hear from my father.”
“They’re waking him now.”
“Who is this?” she asked.
“Nicolai Merkovicz.”
She gasped.
“I take it your father at one point informed you of who I am. You are safe now. These men were assigned by your father to find you and protect you. He is alive, Nalia, and these men are now your guardians until further notice.”
She covered her mouth with her hand.
“Here, someone wants to speak with you.”
“Nalia?” She heard her father’s voice. She gasped and started to cry.
“I’m alive. You saved my life in that garage. You’ve been so strong, baby girl.”
She began to sob and turned the gun around and handed it to Boian. “Daddy, oh thank God, Daddy.”
“I know, Nalia. Everything is going to be just fine. You did so good. You did as I said and you ran and didn’t trust anyone. Now I’m asking you to trust Cosivan and his team.” Her father coughed.
Her eyes widened and she felt afraid. “Are you okay? Daddy?”
“I need to rest. Trust them. Do as Cosivan and his team says. Do whatever Nicolai asks of you.”
“Let the men take care of you. We have a plan for your protection,” Nicolai said and then disconnected the call.
She covered her face with her hands and slumped back into the seat.
Boian held her on the waist, gave a gentle reassuring squeeze, and then covered her knee with his hand. She gasped and pulled her legs away.
“What the hell?” Boian said as he looked at his hand. She saw the blood and so did the others.
“Who got hit?” the one man across from her asked. He had very blond hair, and despite being dressed in all black, he looked large and muscular.
“None of us,” the one across from her said as he continued to stare at her.
“Someone was shot?” the man driving asked.
“That would be me,” she whispered.
“What?” The question came from the man driving. He was huge and his forceful tone made her jump.
She felt the hand on her thigh as the one large man in front of her leaned forward.
Boian clutched her chin. “How bad and where?” he asked as the other guy began to feel around.
She grabbed his hands. She felt an instant tingling and she locked gazes with him. “A flesh wound, on my side, I’m fine,” she said to him.
He leaned closer and grabbed her hoodie, unzipped it then pulled up her shirt as he spoke to her. “How the fuck do you know it’s only a flesh wound?” he demanded to know as he lifted her hoodie and tank top up higher. The other guy next to him leaned forward as he pulled something out.